Alphabetically In Love
by FiveOfFive
Summary: Yet another response to Nickeldime17's alphabet prompts. Fluff, angst, romance, adventure and more await you, or you could read this...it's OK too
1. AB

Alphabetically In Love

Alphabetically In Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, or the song I Would do Anything for Love; they are owned by James Cameron and Meat Loaf respectively. The prompts are also not mine.

This is in response to Nickeldime17's Alphabet Challenge, mine will be nowhere near as good as hers, but I'm going to inflict them on the masses anyway, because that's how I roll.

AN: I'm very sorry for this first one; it was spawned by a twisted sense of humor, and an unhealthy obsession with classic rock. Go to /lyrics/meatloaflyrics3381/batoutofhelliibackintohelllyrics10586/iddoanythingforlovebutiwontdothatlyrics122587.html for the lyrics.

AN2: Anything K+; Brick K+

Anything:

Alec looked down at Max's sleeping form,

"I love you Maxie, and I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?" Alec grinned at Max's not so sleeping form,

"Anything," he affirmed. Alec's grin slipped away and his handsome face became serious as he continued. "Some nights you're breathing fire, some nights you're carved in ice, and some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before, or will see again Max.

"Alec, I think maybe you're crazy," Max said, attempting to lighten their conversation. Max wasn't comfortable with the all the lovey-dovey talks. She'd never been good at this part of relationships, and until recently she would have been willing to bet her Ninja that Alec wasn't either. Who knew hot-boy had an inner poet? She huffed to herself.

Alec however, was not going to be so easily deterred; he and Max had been going at it in one form or another since that first day when he walked into her cell at Mantacore. It was only in the last few weeks that their arguments had ended with her screaming his name in

bed rather than him crying "uncle" in the workout room; and now that he had her undivided attention he wasn't about to let her turn this into a joke. Something briefly flashed through his mind about pots and kettles but he dismissed the thought as swiftly as it had come.

"Maybe it is crazy Maxie, but it's true, I would do anything for you." Max started to get up but a vice-like grip on her arm stopped her. "Why won't you believe me Max?"

There it was, the million dollar question, what was it that was stopping her from committing to Alec as strongly as he had committed to her?

"After a while you'll forget everything you just said," she looked up into hazel depths. "You'll wake-up one morning and find that this was just a brief interlude, a siege induced fling. One day I'll roll over and you won't be there, you'll have moved on."

"I won't do that Maxie"

She couldn't hear him. Max had opened the flood gates, and there was no way she was going to close them now; she'd finally found the courage to speak and all her fears regarding their new relationship were pouring out.

"I know you Alec, I've seen it before; this territory has been mapped by every broken hearted female on the west coast!"

"What the hell are you talking about Max!?"

"I'm talking about this Alec," she cried gesturing between the two on them. "All your promises will turn to dust, and TC, Joshua, me, we'll all come tumbling down when you leave," she was close to tears now, but even Max'd be hard pressed to tell you if they were from sorrow, fear, or anger. "Even if you do stay for Josh and TC, even if you mean everything you've said; sooner or later you'll just end up screwing around, and I can't take that."

"I won't do that Max!" Alec was officially pissed; try to tell a girl how much she means to you and all of a sudden you're an irresponsible hump who'll leave the first time something shiny and new crosses your path. Women! No, not women, Max! Only Max could take a declaration of love and turn it into an accusation of inconsistency, and infidelity.

Max was tired, her less then tactful confession had left her drained, she wanted nothing more then to end the argument, go back to her old apartment, curl up with O.C. and get her head straitened out. Unfortunately she couldn't do any of those things because Alec was still holding her arm in a death grip sure to leave unpleasant bruising tomorrow, and the damn fool wouldn't shut up.

"Max! Are you listening to me?"

"No," she replied, tugging absently at her arm.

"Well start," Alec sat up, pulling her with him. "I will hold you when you're scared, I will bring joy and color into this black and white world you've created around yourself. I would run right into hell and back for you, I will be right here by your side until the end. Not for TC, not for Josh, for you. I would do anything for you Maxie.

Alec forced her eyes to meet his, "I would do anything for your love Max, but I won't do what you're saying, I won't do that." Max looked, really looked into the piercing green before her; in Alec's eyes she saw all her dreams waiting to be fulfilled and the man who could help her build a world for their people, and give her a real home maybe for the first time.

"You won't leave? You won't cheat? You won't hurt me?" Max asked about as close to pleading as she'd ever come.

"No, no, no, I won't do that," Alec declared a smile beginning to form. Max allowed him to wrap her in his arms again as a feeling of peace washed over her.

X452X494X452X494X452X494X452X494X

Brick:

"Gah!" Max screamed as she slammed into the apartment she shared with O.C. "It's like talking to a brick!" Max continued to rant throwing her black cat burglar bag onto the sofa. "Except that you can actually do something useful with a brick, you can throw it at someone as a weapon, you can put it with other bricks and build a wall, or hell, why stop with a wall, get enough together and you can build a home!"

O.C. watched her girl rant and rave as she paced the floor gesturing wildly with her hands, arms, hell the poor girl's torso was even starting to get involved. As Max was about to start her 17th circuit of the room O.C. decided to intervene before her Boo wore a hole in the floor and fell through.

"Sugar, there is only one man who can get you this crazy. You want to stop with the screamin' and tell a sister what your boy did this time?"

"He's not my boy, and the idiot formerly known as Alec went off and got himself shot… again."

"How'd baby boy do that?"

"Pft," Max scoffed. "Hell if I know, it was a simple Eyes Only mission. If I'd know things were gonna go sideways like that I'da brought along more help then Alec."

"Aiight, so what happened?"

"Turns out Logan's contact was actually working for the drug lord we were supposed to be taking down, so when Alec and I busted into his place he was ready for us. They'd handcuffed us to a couple of chairs, but Alec managed to pick the lock. Then instead of helping me get free, he slips me the lockpick, says "Don't take too long princess" and tries to take them out single handed!"

"Oh he did _not_ call you princess"

"And that's not all; he'd just finished with the guards that were in our room, when a new group comes in. I had picked the lock by then so I was good to go, but one of them points his gun at me and shoots, and the fool jumped in the way."

Cindy's eyes widened, "He did what?"

"Yeah, I know, can you believe him?!" Cindy did a double take to make sure her girl was seriously angry at Alec for taking a bullet for her.

"Boo, so far I haven't heard what Alec did that was so terrible."

Max's eyes narrowed at the implication she was persecuting the annoying one. After all, was O.C. there? Did she know that all he'd done when finding out he'd been shot was laugh and go back in to the fray? Did she have to patch up the hole in his shoulder, with him looking all pale?

O.C. saw the indignation rising in Max's eyes, she was in full on scold mode and no amount of common sense or defending of Alec was gonna make the girl see reason. Nope, she better nip this little Max-tude in the bud before it got going too strong.

"Ya know Boo, he is a brick," O.C. opened. Stopping Max as she was about to explode.

"What?" She questioned deflating.

"Didn't you say that one of a bricks good qualities was that it could be hurled at a body as a weapon?" O.C. looked at the befuddled expression on her best friend's face. She may be a genetically enhanced genus, but sometimes her girl was dumb as a brick.

XXXXXXXXXX

"If he isn't dead already I'm gonna kill him!" Max screamed as she slammed into T.C.'s medical center, limping heavily.

Seven hours, and two major surgeries later Max wasn't screaming anymore, she was praying to God, the Blue Lady, and whoever else might be listening that her smart Alec would pull through. When O.C. found her she was huddled in a waiting room chair with her knees pulled up to her chest and a vacant look in her eyes.

Joshua had been trying to get through to 'Little Fella' since she'd heard that one of the bullets had gotten lodged near Alec's heart. She'd slumped into the chair at that news and had only moved to question passing medical personnel on Alec's condition. Josh knowing that all he could do for Max was sit with her and hold her hand had decided that she needed someone to kick her ass. Only two people could do that and 'Medium Fella' was the reason she was so wack. So he'd sent Trix and Doodle, both X5s to fetch O.C. and bring her back to Terminal City.

The moment Max clapped her eyes on O.C. they began to fill.

"It's all my fault," she blurted without any preamble. "I'm the reason he's lying in there."

"Hush girl," O.C. soothed, sitting in the chair on Max's right side. Joshua holding her hand on Max's left began to whine. "I'm sure that's not true Boo."

"It is, I went off on my own, and Alec followed me. Logan had gotten a tip about the cure and I didn't want to put anyone else in danger over something that was for me." Max looked at O.C. pain written in every line on her transgenically beautiful face. "It was a trap, set by White. We fought and he broke my ankle, I couldn't move, I was dead… and then Alec was there. He placed himself between White and me," Max broke off with a quiet sob. "He…" she swallowed hard unable to meet her friend's gaze. "He said 'If you want Max, you'll have to go through me.' I've never seen Alec move like that, never seen him fight that hard. He disarmed White and took him down, we both thought he was unconscious, when Alec turned his back to come help me up White pulled a reserve gun out of an ankle holster. Alec heard the sound and turned right as White fired, Alec double tapped the bastard right between the eyes before he even realized he'd been hit."

"Oh, sweetie..."

"That's not even the worse part," Max finally met O.C.'s eyes. "I yelled at him, can you believe that? He saved my life, and I yelled at him. He was just standing there, not moving, I called him a moron and said I'd had things under control." Max started laughing but there was no humor in it. "He wouldn't turn around and I got pissed, I said I'd have better luck talking to a brick wall, then he collapsed."

O.C. and Josh wrapped their arms around Max and let her cry out all the guilt and grief. The three stayed that way for another two hours, until the doctor came out with news of Alec.

Max's eyes filled with tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day, only now they were of joy. O.C. watched as Josh picked Max up and spun her around the waiting room, thinking to herself, 'Looks like my girl's brick wall wont be crumbling down today.'

XXXXXXXXXX

O.C. looked around T.C., every building was sporting some sort of decoration, garlands, wreaths, ribbons, none of it matched and it was all pretty shabby looking. O.C. had never seen a more beautiful place.

It was four years since Alec killed White, three and a half since that freaky-deaky breading cult started a war with all mankind, two years four months since Alec told Max he loved her, one year eleven months since she'd come to her senses and said it back, coincidently that was also the day he'd almost died saving her life… again, and the day Max went all Chosen One on everybody's ass and saved the world. O.C. loved her Boo more then anything on this rock, but it always did take extreme situations to make her girl sit up and recognize what was right in front of her.

Max'd accused Alec of being a brick, but if that was true of him then it was doubly true for her. One year eleven months since the world didn't end, one year eight months since Alec managed to convince Max she hadn't just been spouting out random words in a pre-apocalyptic frenzy, eighteen months since Alec asked Max to marry him, O.C. had to hand it to the boy, he didn't mess around once he decided he wanted something. Sixteen months since Max had said yes, fourteen since she turned around and said no, one year since she'd put Alec in the hospital for dating another girl after she'd broken his heart, nine months since Alec left T.C. unable to be around Max anymore, eight months three weeks and four days since Max'd roared into T.C. with Alec on the back of her ninja, both of them broken, bruised, covered in dirt, her sporting a shiny new engagement ring and Alec grinning bright enough to power all Terminal City.

O.C. looked on as Joshua and Mole started up a can-can line with Dix and Luke soon joining in. She saw Gem's daughter Eve running around being chased by Dalton, somehow the girl had managed to ditch the fancy dress her mamma had insisted on her wearing and was blurring around in her underwear. She decided Max and Alec had been right to have and outdoor reception as a group of X7s started a game of tag with some X8s. A silvery laugh drew her eyes back to the dance floor and the couple that was holding court in the middle of it, Alec and Max would manage a few steps before one of the kids or a transhuman would come up to congratulate them or ask if they could have second helpings of cake. O.C. watched as Alec whispered something into Max's ear and she started to laugh again, all the inhabitants of T.C. grinning when they heard the sound.

As Josh grabbed her hand and pulled her into the can-can line O.C. couldn't help but wonder how two bricks had built a home.


	2. CD

Alphabetically in Love

Alphabetically in Love

Disclaimer: Much to my dismay I do not own Dark Angel, even more upsetting, I don't own Jensen Ackles, but a tranquilizer gun could soon set that to rights…

AN: Daughter was partially inspired by Seamagik's A to M alphabet collection, more specifically her "Daughter" short, what Sea wrote got me thinking, so it's sort of a flip side.

AN2: Cold K, Daughter K+

Cold:

It is twelve years to the day since my unit and I escaped from Manticore. Twelve years since I fell beneath the ice and lost the only family I'd ever really known. I can still remember the feeling of the cold as it seeped into my bones, making my blood slow and my brain shut down. I can remember with perfect clarity ever moment that passed under the ice, how long before my lungs started to burn, the sleepy feeling as my body began to die. The freedom of my first breath after surfacing, the sound of the snow crunching under my feet. But what I remember most is that the cold never really left, it lingered even after my trembling body was warmed. Sometimes I can pretend like it has, that the cold was just a result of hypothermia, nothing more. But on this day, not even I can deny that the cold is still inside me, spreading out from my core until I'm burning with it.

It is twelve years to the day since my unit and I escaped from Manticore. Twelve years since I fell beneath the ice and lost the only family I'd ever really known. I can still remember the feeling of the cold as it seeped into my bones, making my blood slow and my brain shut down. Its twelve years since I have truly been warm.

XXXXXXXXXX

It is twelve years to the day since Max and her merry band of miscreants escaped from Manticore. Twelve years since they came for me in the middle of the night, tearing me away from the only family I'd ever really known. I can still remember the feeling of the cold seeping up through my bare feet on the concrete floor, the way it climbed up my body chasing away the warmth I'd felt when I was lying safe in bed, until every inch of me was shaking. I can still remember with perfect clarity the terror as they led me down the corridor to PsyOps, my pleas for forgiveness, and the confusion I felt because I hadn't done anything wrong. The hatred for my brother, and all the other 09ers who were the cause of my suffering; the sound of the other twins as they cried out, even though they knew no one would save them. But what I remember most is that the cold never really left, it lingered even after I'd been released from PsyOps and placed in a new unit. Sometimes I can pretend like it has, like I'm always alright; that the cold was just a bad dream, the result of a young boy scared and alone, nothing more. But on this day, not even I can deny that the cold is still inside me, spreading out from my core until I'm burning with it.

It is twelve years to the day since Max and her merry band of miscreants escaped from Manticore. Twelve years since they came for me in the middle of the night, tearing me away from the only family I'd ever really known. I can still remember the feeling of the cold seeping up through my bare feet on the concrete floor, the way it climbed up my body chasing away the warmth I'd felt when I was lying safe in bed, until every inch of me was shaking. Its twelve years since I have truly been warm.

X452X494X452X494X452X494X452X494X

Daughter:

Alec looked down at the little girl in frustration.

"Abigail, you know the rules, no stories before bed on Sunday, it's a school night and you need your sleep." The dark haired girl gave no verbal response, a widening of her eyes and a slight tremble in her lower lip the only sign she had heard him.

"Your momma's gonna be here tomorrow, do you want to get me in trouble?" He tried again, appealing to that soft hearted nature she'd inherited from her mom, along with the hair, and knack for wrapping him around her finger.

"Please? Just one eensy, teensy, little story," Abby begged; eyes pleading as though all her happiness rested in being told a story before bed. Alec sighed and new he was defeated, he'd never been able to resist those eyes, and he hoped she never learned to use her powers for evil.

"One story," he conceded. Abby squealed and clapped her little hands together in glee. At his stern eyebrow raise however she settled down into the pillows and arranged an angelic look on her face, big eyes still sparkling in mischief.

Alec smiled slightly to himself, knowing he was whipped. Abigail was her mother's daughter in almost every way; especially as he looked at her now, the face of an angel and eyes that promised trouble. The intent in her eyes was pure Max, but the color, that she had gotten from her father.

"Ahem," the little voice broke Alec from his reverie. "Once upon a time," she prompted.

Alec smiled at the mini-Max impatiently waiting for her story.

"Once upon a time," he began indulgently as she settled in to hear the tale, now assured that he'd be telling it right. "There was a beautiful princess, and she lived in a tall tower hidden in an enchanted forest."

"Why would a princess want to live in a tower?" Abby's little voice interrupted.

"Hold your horses I'm getting there!" Alec chided the girl with a soft tap to the end of her nose. "The Princess had lived in the village just outside the enchanted forest for many years; but she was special, different from the people who lived there, and some of them were afraid of her. Now one day the Princess was kidnapped by a dragon; the dragon, while horrible on its own, was controlled by an evil witch. And after she escaped the Princess decided to live in the tower, so nobody could ever get to her again."

"Who rescued the Princess?"

"No one rescued her."

"Then how did she get away to live in a tower?"

"She rescued herself."

"The Princess can't rescue herself," Abby said, speaking slowly as if trying to explain a simple concept to someone very dim.

"This one can," Alec answered. "In fact, after she chopped off the dragon's head and vanquished the witch she led all the other innocents that the witch had taken to freedom. Many of these people had been cursed by the witch, or were special, like the Princess, and didn't want to live in the village. So they all moved into the enchanted forest, and made a new home for themselves. One of the people rescued was her brother whom the witch had cursed with the face of a dog, so everyone would fear him; but the princess saw through the enchantment to the sweet man inside, and broke the spell, and soon all could see her brother the Prince for who he truly was."

"Wow. That's some princess," Abigail mussed.

"Yeah," Alec replied. "She is," Alec shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued the story. "Anyway, after her escape the Princess shut herself away in the tower, the only people she allowed to come up were her brother the Prince, and the village Wise Woman who had been her best friend before she was captured. Eventually word spread of the beauty in the tower, and many men tried to win her love, but she kept her heart locked away in fear.

One day a rich knight came to call upon her, he was smart and romantic; and he told her many tales of how he helped the innocent. The stories of how he'd saved people made the Princess want to do something to help too. So she came down from her tower, and the two went off saving the poor and defeating the bad guys. But at the end of each adventure, the Princess would climb the stairs back to her tower, and the Knight was never allowed in.

While off on one of their adventures the princess and the knight met another man, he was a soldier who had been freed by the Princess. The Soldier was brave, handsome, and funny, in fact, he was the only person apart from the Prince and the Wise Woman who could make the Princess laugh. The Soldier was so taken by the Princess's heroism and determination that he agreed to help vanquish an evil lord who was taxing his people into starvation to feed his own greed. Together the three made short work of the evil lord and the Princess returned once more to her tower.

As time passed the Knight grew more and more fond of the Princess, but it was the Soldier who became her friend. Eventually the Princess began to leave her tower just to spend time with the Soldier. Now, the Evil Witch, you remember her right?" Alec looked into those eyes of Abby's, so wide they were like pools you could swim through. Abby couldn't even respond she was so caught up in the story; she merely nodded her head to show she remembered and waited for him to continue. Alec gave a small smirk before starting up the tale again.

"Well, the Evil Witch hated the Princes so much that with her final breath she put a curse on her; that the first man who fell in love with the Princess would die if she touched him!" Alec smiled at the small gasp allowed to escape past Abigail's lips. "One day the Knight woke up and realized he was in love with the Princess, and not being one to waist time simply pining after the girl of his dreams, he decided to tell her right away. The Knight professed his love for the Princess and she admitted that she felt the same way about him. Just as they were reaching for each other the Wise Woman came running, screaming for them to stop, but they were so lost in each others eyes that they couldn't hear her. Fortunately the Soldier was passing by, and hearing what the Wise Woman shrieked he grabbed the Princess before she could touch the other man."

"Wait a minute, how did the Wise Woman know about the curse?"

"She uh, she had a vision," Alec replied thinking fast.

"Well why was the Soldier there?"

"He'd stopped by to say hi to the Princess," he improvised.

"So where did this happen, in the forest? And why did-"

"Do you want me to continue the story?" Alec interrupted impatiently.

"Yeah, but-" Abby began, only to be cut off again.

"But nothing, this is my story and if I want plot holes, then that's what you're gonna get!" Sheesh, he was never letting her watch A Few Good Men again, ever since she'd seen it he swore that girl was angling for a "you can't handle the truth moment".

"After her close call the Princess retreated to her tower and refused to talk to anyone. But the Soldier didn't give up so easily, he went to the village where he bought a rope and a grappling hook, then he came back to the tower and using all his skill and training, he broke into the tower without the Princess's knowledge. When she learned that he was there she became furious, and beat him soundly; but the Soldier didn't fight back, he just took all her punishment, until eventually her blows ceased, and she started to cry. The Soldier held the Princess all through the night, and vowed to himself that he would find a way to break the curse so his princess could be happy once more.

Eventually the Soldier left to search distant lands for the answer to the curse, the Princess was sad at his leaving, but understood that this was for her. The Soldier was gone several weeks, and when he returned he gave the cure for the curse to the Knight, and told him to take it to his lady. Upon receiving the cure from the Knight the Princess realized who it was she truly loved, she ran into the arms of her beloved and they got married. The Princess, no longer afraid of life, took up her rightful place as queen, and was loved by all her people. The end."

"That can't be the end," Abigail protested half asleep.

"No? And why not, may I ask?"

"You didn't end it right, you're supposed to say," Alec held up a finger to silence her.

"And they all lived happily ever after, the end."

Alec smiled at the now slumbering girl, before taking a good look at the clock and shuddering at how late it had gotten. Her mother's gonna kill me, he though to himself as he headed off to his own bed.

The next morning Alec made chocolate chip pancakes, and hoped that the sugar buzz would disguise how late Abby had been up. As he sat drinking his coffee and reading the paper he realized that Abigail had stopped eating.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"Who did she choose?" Abby asked eyes serious.

"Huh?" Alec had never been his most eloquent in the morning.

"The Princess," Abby answered him, exasperated. "Who did she end up marrying?"

Alec considered his answer a moment. "Who do you think she married?" He asked instead of answered.

Abigail paused weighing the merits of each man. "The Soldier," she finally replied. "He was always there for the Princess, and he had her back, no matter what. The Knight spent too much time mooning about."

Alec bit back a laugh, and opened his mouth when there was a knock at the door. Still chuckling to himself Alec got up and answered the not so patiently waiting person just outside his apartment.

"Hey Alec," Max greeted him as she breezed in. "Sorry about the banging, I stopped in at HQ before coming here, and I left my keys on my desk" Alec draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head with a smirk.

"Ah Maxie, so sad," he practically tut-tutted. "Getting forgetful in your old age," hazel eyes laughed at brown. Max smacked his arm lightly but gave him a peck on the cheek anyway.

"Hi Alec," a new voice sounded from the doorway.

"Logan, hey buddy," Max and Alec moved away from each other; Alec to lean against the kitchen counter and Max to hug her daughter.

"Thanks for watching Abby this weekend Alec," Logan smiled unconvincingly.

"Logan, how many times do I have to tell you, it's no trouble for me to look after my own daughter. Besides, the custody arrangement we all worked out says quite clearly that Abs stays with me on the weekends," Alec replied his smile just as false.

Alec looked at his daughter and wondered what she'd say if she knew the truth. Most of what he'd told her last night was how it happened, a bit embellished, but he'd always had a knack for improving the facts. However, the night that the Soldier spent in the Princess's tower after that near miss wasn't so innocent. Also Max's heat had more to do with her almost killing Logan then any declaration of love; although God knew he'd done that enough times too. How could he tell his sweet angel, with her mother's face and his eyes that the next morning Max had run? She'd abandoned TC and taken off; Alec knew she'd be back after she cleared her head, so he'd spent the time hunting down the cure. He wanted her decision to be made freely, if she chose him he wanted it to be because he was the man she wanted, not second best.

Logan took a more stalkerish approach, he tracked her down, but the guy was no fool. He waited until Alec found the cure before he contacted Max. Alec got the cure, but the showdown between himself and White who held the key to ending the virus, resulted in an extended hospital stay for Alec; still it could have been worse, he could have been White. Alec road into TC clutching a vial and half dead, after making the med team understand what he'd found Alec collapsed. He was in and out of consciousness for the next few days, but he wasn't responding to meds and he wasn't healing like he should. It wasn't until Logan promised to take the cure to Max and tell her who it came from that he was able to sleep and his body began to mend. When Max had chosen Logan, Alec felt his world collapse, she didn't love him. But he'd promised himself that he wouldn't let anything stand in the way of the friendship he'd formed with Max. It was the most important aspect of his life; it was what kept him going day after day. So he'd brushed off her awkward attempts to talk about what happened, said it was just a little heat induced madness, and that he couldn't be happier for her. Alec was always a better liar than Max gave him credit for. It wasn't until Abigail was three years old and already calling Logan "daddy Logo" more often then not that Alec learned the truth. Logan never told Max that Alec was the one who had found the cure; he'd claimed that a contact of his had come though, and with Max out of TC no one was there to contradict him. In the end Alec decided against telling Max the truth. He loved his girls, and his girls loved Logan, it would only hurt them.

The day Max told him she was pregnant he'd taken a gun from the armory and a bottle of scotch from his secret stash. He'd stared at them for hours trying to make up his mind, in the end he got drunk, it had taken a lot more then the one bottle of scotch, but once Alec put his mind to something, it got done.

It wasn't until three days later when Doc did the official test to find out how far along Max was that they did the math and realized Logan couldn't be the father.

The day Max told him he was going to be a daddy, but that Logan and she weren't breaking up he'd snuck into town and bought cigars and a crib, one of those things new dads were supposed to stay up nights working on. When he got back to his apartment he took out the gun again, his eyes flickering between the easy answer and a life raising his child, loving Max, and watching her be happy with Logan. Alec had lost Max to Robo-Boy, he'd be damned if he lost his child too. Alec returned the gun to the armory, bribed Mole with the cigars into helping him set up the crib at Max's place, and started baby proofing everything in sight.

When Abby was born Alec and Max went through every name in the book, and more then a few not in any book, (really, who in their right mind would want to name their daughter "Buffy"?) It was Joshua who suggested "Abigail", he'd seen how devoted Alec was to the little girl, and had informed them that it was a Hebrew name which roughly translated meant Joy of the Father. It was perfect, Max had taken one look at Alec's face when he heard the translation and declared their little girl named.

Alec knew in his heart that he could never tell Abigail the true end of their story. That the Princess became a Queen, married a man who wasn't worthy of her, and who could never be her equal; the people wouldn't acknowledge him as King, so he became her Consort, a faithful lover whispering his own agenda into her ear. The Prince, her brother, became the Queen's royal advisor, and his council was respected by all. The Wise Woman was a great friend to the kingdom, and her help was invaluable in times of trouble. As for the Soldier, he became the Queen's Steward, her loyal second in command.

Alec watched as Logan picked Abby up with one arm before wrapping the other around Max, taking them away with him. Alec knew that Max would always see him as her best friend, her SIC, he was in love with a woman who could never love him back, not the way he wanted. The Soldier may have become the Steward, he'd never felt more like the Court Jester.

His own voice echoed from the past, "We weren't designed to be chumps Maxie." Maybe not, but even Manticore couldn't predict the effect love would have on their perfect super soldiers, and if there was one thing Alec had learned in his time on the outside, it was that love made chumps of them all.

AN3: Well, those were a lot more depressing then I'd originally intended…OK so I was going to have "Daughter" be an angst-fest, but I hadn't intended "Cold" to go down like that... um, sorry? Please try not to kill yourselves before you review! :-)


	3. EF

Alphabetically In Love

Alphabetically In Love

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine…but with Seamagik and me going halfsies on gas, supplies, and a tranq gun we might be able to bag ourselves a Jensen Ackles :-)

AN: Enough takes place the evening after a certain nauseating event in the season two finale, I think y'all know which one I mean, never has handholding been so wrong…

AN2: Enough is crack; it is cractastic crack from cracktown. If this fic ever had children they'd grow up to be musicians and politicians; that is how full of crack this is…you have been warned.

Enough: K+; Frosting: T

Enough

Alec sat in his apartment a glass of scotch in one hand and the TV remote in the other. He was flipping mindlessly through the channels, every now and then stopping long enough to pour himself another scotch. If one was to observe the transgenic they would see more frequent pauses in the channel search and a swiftly emptying bottle.

"Just who the hell does she thing she is?!" Alec demanded of his glass. "My girlfriend," his lips curled into a sneer on the word. "Holding hands with that ordinary in full view of every leading transgenic and transhuman in T.C." Alec briefly wondered if talking to himself was a healthy sign, especially considering his family history of insanity. "Heh," the sound had no humor in it. "I bet it wasn't the outside that drove 493 crazy, it was Max. I've known her a little over a year and I'm doing a damn good impersonation of a sitting duck, surrounded by scared freaks, pretending to be the boyfriend of a woman who hates me, and talking to myself." Alec knew he was being unfair, at least about Ben, but the hurt from yet another thoughtless action on Max's part left him wanting to hurt her too, made him want to lash out like a child. They'd never been allowed temper tantrums back at Mantacore, but Max seemed to throw at least one a day, usually at him. Maybe she did it to keep sane; a little venting of pressure, well if anyone's valves needed a release it was Alec's.

"I've had enough, this relationship was her idea, and if Max is going to stand there and make moon eyes with her ex in front of this entire Freak Nation, then she can't have a problem with me having a little fun." Alec knew in his heart, and more importantly in his head, which was franticly screaming 'Danger Will Robinson' at him, that the odds of Max being reasonable and admitting that not only was she wrong, but that Alec's feelings were just as valid as any other inhabitant of T.C. was about as likely as Alec taking a vow of celibacy, although if Max had her way he might as well. Alec finished the bottle, decided rational thought was for pussies, and headed down to the makeshift bar they'd set up in one of the sturdier buildings to blow off a little steam.

Sometimes being transgenic rocked out hard! You could run faster then a speeding bullet, leap tall buildings in a single bound, and talk any girl you wanted out of her panties quicker then the blink of an ordinaries eye. Hell, he could practically make a girl climax just by throwing her a wink and an extra sly grin. But sometimes, sometimes being transgenic sucked harder then it rocked, especially when you're trying to get plastered so you can rationalize your bad decisions.

By the time Alec had walked from his apartment to the bar sobriety had returned with a vengeance, along with common sense, and his survival instinct. Alec sighed knowing he'd have to put in a long night at bar if he wanted to be sloshed enough to get laid and not care about the consequences, also known as Max kicking his ass for blowing their cover as a couple…being a man-slut never used to be this difficult.

Three hours, a couple bottles of scotch, and one frustratingly high metabolism later, Alec was still not drunk and despite the fact that most of the women in the bar were checking him out, none would approach. Apparently he wasn't the only one with survival instincts, and a decent grasp of Max's temperament.

Alec had just resigned himself to a night alone, a fact made much easier by the fact that he finally had one foot well in the door to being wasted, when Max walked in. He was so busy thanking his lucky stars that his latest attempt at copulation had left the immediate vicinity before Max could see her that he failed to notice the bespectacled shaggy-headed man trailing along behind her. When Alec finally spotted the ordinary he was put in mind of the dog you abandon at the Grand Canyon that follows you home across nine states. Yup, Logan had a lot in common with that dog, dependable, determined, clueless, and vaguely mangy.

"Hey ya Maxie," Alec grinned tipping slightly as he spun around on his barstool to face their fearless leader. "And Logan, what a coincidence you two showing up at the same time. Maxie and Logan, Logan and Maxie," he raised his glass with an only slightly unsteady hand. "Here's lookin' at you kids," Alec downed the nearly full glass of scotch before slamming it down on the table and yelling for the barkeep to bring him a refill.

"Alec, are you drunk?" Max asked slightly outraged.

Alec held his hand up and squished his thumb and index finger together, "Just a little bit, but don't fret Max, I won't give up till I passed out drunk on the floor with the peanut shells."

"Alec!" Max launched into a lecture, something about responsibility and setting a good example, Alec was still drinking so he was having trouble following. As for Logan, he just started nodding along with every word and once in a while he would chime in with a poignant and thoroughly non asinine comment. Alec couldn't look at him for too long because he started getting motion sick with all the bobbling, so he settled for staring at Max, it wasn't like he wanted to, she was just the only thing in the room right now that wasn't spinning.

By now their little party had garnered quite an audience, and just like that morning Alec felt his temper starting to stir. Bad enough that she disrespects their relationship like that by getting all handsy with the flea bitten ordinary at the flag raising, now she was dressing him down in full view of everybody, with Logan wagging his tail and yapping at Alec's heels the entire time.

Alec felt the last of his buzz fade when he let his anger take over, burning out everything else in it's path as it spread through is body, making his extremities tingle with the intensity of it.

"Enough," he spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

"What?" Max was fully in her rant and was shocked that he would dare pull her out of it so abruptly.

"I said enough," green eyes locked with brown, and the intensity Max found there was enough to make her want to take a step back. She didn't of course; Max would never concede anything, especially not to Alec. "I'm done, I've had enough Max. You want to hold hands with Logan and gaze lovingly into one another's eyes that's fine by me; you want to act like conjoined twins, attached at the bitch, then more power to you. But do _not_ expect me to sit around and take it." Alec turned to Logan, "If you want her I'm not going to stand in the way, but man to man, run dude. Run as fast as that exoskeleton can carry you." Alec looked to Max once more and saw the hurt and betrayal before she covered it quickly with the Mantacore mask. "I'm through being your whipping boy Max," and with that he was gone, out the door and headed back to his apartment.

"I can't believe he just did that," Max slumped onto Alec's vacated barstool.

"I know," Logan chimed in gleefully. Max looked up angrily at his tone which Logan quickly adjusted to fit the seriousness of the situation. "He wasn't the right man for you Max, he could never be worthy of you."

Max just stared morosely into the empty scotch glass Alec had left behind not appreciating Logan's adoration in the least. "He dumped me," she stated sounding lost. Max's thoughts expanded on her confusion.

_He_ dumped _me_, that's not how it's supposed to happen. Alec's supposed to take my crap, provide me with cover when I'm feeling the need for some Logan distance, kinda like right now he's been staring at me for five minutes straight and it's starting to wig me out. Alec should be here to sit next to me, and look pointedly at Logan till he leaves, then I'm supposed to scold him for being rude but I'll smack him lightly instead of wholloping him.

"How could he do this?" She questioned aloud, hoping for an answer from on high. All she got was Logan, dear lord, he was still talking. As far as she could tell he'd barely paused for breath during the time her mind was on planet Alec.

Max stood up quickly and silently, steeling away out of the bar, Logan was so wrapped up in disparaging Alec and praising Max he didn't notice she'd slipped away. He wouldn't begin to wonder where his precious Max was until after he regained consciousness to find that Mole had attacked him and duct taped the ordinary mummy style, hanging him from the rafters like a piñata.

Max kicked down the door of Alec's apartment to find him seated at the kitchen counter trying once more to destroy his liver.

"No," she declared before turning to leave in a slightly less dramatic fashion from which she entered.

"Yes," Alec had no idea what they were arguing about but if Max walked in and said the sky was blue he'd debate whether or not it was really more of a red, and if she were to say that she liked chocolate ice cream Alec would claim vanilla was the best just to be a dick. So naturally when Max entered his home saying 'no' Alec replied the only way he knew how, by disagreeing with her.

Max turned around, flipped her hair back and leveled her iciest glare at him. Alec reclined comfortably in his chair, and gave her his most lascivious smirk. Max broke first, seeing as how she's the one who felt the need for a chat.

"We are not broken-up," hand to hip, lean provocatively to one side and hair toss.

"Can't break something that was never together to begin with Maxie," wink, smirk, pour another drink and ignore till she leaves.

"Then what was all that crap about back at the bar?" Approach with menace, remind him you're a bad-ass chick in leather, and scowl.

"Just speaking the truth Max, saying what should have been said long ago," eye's narrow, then roll, shrug shoulders, stand up to confront, she doesn't intimidate you.

The two stared each other down, waiting for the other to flinch; both opened their mouths at the same time and started screaming.

XXXXXXXXXX

Several hours, one hell of a fight, and many bouts of angry sex, followed by much less angry yet still incredibly passionate sex later:

As Alec gazed down at the sleeping woman snuggled tight against his body he knew in his heart, his head, and more importantly in his soul, that this was one thing of which he'd never be able to get enough.

AN3: Wow, even my crack has angst…I should probably see someone about that

X452X494X452X494X452X494X452X494X

Frosting

Alec stared at the chocolate cupcake with its vanilla icing and wondered, is it possible to be killed by frosting? Because that sugary concoction right there; was going to be the death of him. Well, frosting and Max.

Normally the evenings when Gem would bring leftover goodies from her bakery after closing time were days of great joy and celebration for Alec. He loved all things sugar or chocolate related, and Gem was a natural cook, he could sit and drool over her moist collection of delectable treats for hours.

Alec suppressed another groan as Max licked off a little more of the frosting from her cupcake. Alec could also sit and drool over Max's moist collection of delectable treats for hours, the big difference being that Max couldn't cook worth a damn, and Gem's brownies were the only thing he was interested in at the bakery.

Alec was approaching his limit, it's bad enough he's got to live with Max, work with Max, go on secret missions with Max, and be her bestest gal pal with Original Cindy stuck on the other side of an army. Now the brunette bruiser was invading his dreams in a very not "lets just be friends" way, making him wake up hard and aching for her the way he's never longed for a woman in his life. There she was, in the flesh, sitting right in front of him and he has never seen anything even halfway as erotic as Max licking the frosting off that cupcake with slow leisurely strokes of her tongue.

"It's getting pretty late and I," another lick. "I've got to go," Alec stood up hastily, trying to divert his mind from picturing Max's tongue doing so much more than merely liking frosting. Or at least, not only frosting, "Right now," he exclaimed near panic, before bolting from Headquarters.

"Alec, wait up," Gem called, but the transgenic was long gone. "He didn't even eat his cupcake," she pouted. "I saved one special for him with sprinkles and everything."

"It's alright Gem, he's got a lot on his mind," Max reassured the young woman. "I'll take it back with me to the apartment. It's getting pretty late, I should call it a day anyway," she smiled before happily munching down on her desert, all thoughts of eating it slowly forgotten.

Max had been noticing a lot of things lately, her position as leader of T.C. had forced her to open her mind to many truths which she in the past had been content to ignore. The first of which had been that Alec was a great soldier, the others respected and looked up to him. Quite frankly without Alec's support she never would have made it this far, the rest of their Freak Nation wouldn't have accepted an 09er as leader without the pride of Manticore busting heads and persuading swing voters to give her a chance.

The second had been that Logan, while a sweet guy wasn't good for Terminal City, at least not from the inside. His Eyes Only broadcasts were doing a great deal of good for them with public opinion, but she got just as much help from Sketchy's articles. And while his hacking skills might be the things legends are made of amongst the ordinaries, here in T.C. he was just slowing them down. Once Max was no longer in mortal peril with the guy on a weekly basis she found it surprisingly easy to forget he even existed most of the time.

The third and hardest realization had been that she has the hots for Alec. With the housing shortage in the city, and the fact that they spent all their time together anyway, moving into the same apartment had just been common sense. However once Logan was no longer around to point out how inferior and self-involved Alec was, Max began seeing what Cale-blindness had prevented her from noticing for almost two years:

Alec was dedicated. Like the time when he broke into this baby clothes store originally to get Gem's daughter some decent threads. He also brought back enough clothing for all the babies and soon to be newborns in Terminal City. When Max was done screaming at him for getting shot in the shoulder by a sector cop on his way out and asked what the hell he'd been thinking going back for a third load of clothes he'd just smiled, winked and said "It was the fourth trip back Maxie, not the third, and I was getting toys, not clothes. After all, every baby should have a rattle." At which point he'd pulled one of the aforementioned rattles out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to shake it at her going "Goochie, Goochie, Goo!" Alec ended up spending an extra night in the med center for a minor concussion.

Alec was kind. On the one year anniversary of Annie's death he'd taken Joshua outside the fence. Max had been furious when she found out; when they got back Alec was limping and had been shot in the shoulder again. She spent a good two hours berating him before going to double check that Josh was alright after whatever Alec had gotten him into. That's when she learned that Alec had taken him back to Annie's house, he'd held Josh while the big fellah remembered the short time he'd spent with Annie, and Alec told him stories about Rachel. They were on their way back when they stumbled on a mugging, Alec had been shot but he'd saved the young girl, and made sure the mugger wouldn't be able to prey on anyone else for a long time. Max wasn't sure if she should forgive Alec for breaking lockdown, or go scream at him some more for not telling her sooner. In the end she settled for doing both, Max went back to the med center, yelled at Alec for not telling her why he'd left or asking beforehand so she wouldn't have worried about them all day; then she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She left a very confused Alec asking the doctor to check him for a concussion because he could swear he just had a hallucination.

Alec needed to learn how to duck. That wasn't so much one of her big revelations as it was common sense. The boy couldn't seem to go a week with out getting shot. Of course, it was always in the defense of someone else, which she was now finally able to understand. As a joke for his birthday she'd given him a besagew, it was a circular piece of metal that she stole off a suit of armor from some rich drug dealer or something when she was on a job for Logan. It's supposed to be attached at the shoulder for extra protection. The two of them had laughed themselves sick when he opened it.

Alec was her best friend. That one had been more gradual, no grand moment of epiphany, no life or death situation. Somewhere along the line he'd decided staying in to watch an old movie was more fun then bar hopping, and she'd decided that curling up next to him when she couldn't sleep was a better idea then working herself to death. Slowly he told her about the horrors of Manticore, and she confided in him about her time before the escape and what happened her first few years on the outside.

Somehow their lives had become about taking care of T.C. and each other. As she walked back to the apartment she shared with the man who had been occupying her mind for the past several weeks, she wondered if teasing him earlier had been cruel. The building's walls weren't that thick, and with transgenic hearing they became even thinner. So when she heard Alec whispering her name in his sleep, followed by him taking a long shower where she was almost positive the poor guy was trying to get control over a raging hard on, she'd decided to test the waters a little and see if he reacted. And judging by the way he bolted when she started swirling the frosting around with her tongue, the waters were definitely ready for her to jump in.

Max entered their flat and saw Alec tense on the sofa, the TV was on but she could tell he wasn't paying attention to the programming. Removing the cupcake from the tin Gem had given her to protect it, Max had to smirk at the way Alec's pulse started to quicken and the way his eyes kept drifting away from the television screen.

Alec watched transfixed as Max sauntered over to him, holding the delicious cause of his earlier flight out before her. As Max drew nearer Alec was reminded of an old story he'd heard about a woman tempting a man with some kind of forbidden fruit. The parallels seemed remarkably unfair to Alec who had inched further back into the corner of the couch with each step forward his temptress had taken.

"Hey Alec," she began innocently. "You bolted before Gem could give you your cupcake."

"That's alright, I'm uh…I'm not that hungry," Alec managed to stammer out from his corner of the couch.

"Well then, you wouldn't mind if I ate it would you? I'm still pretty hungry," Max sat down next to Alec, invading his personal space. She began to lick off each sprinkle individually, pausing to moan after each swipe of her tongue.

Alec watched transfixed, unable to move or speak. He did manage a weak sort of whimpery sound, but unless you were a transgenic or a dog you wouldn't have heard a thing.

Upon hearing that sound come out of his mouth something inside Alec snapped. He was the top seducer in Matacore, he was the predator, women were the pray, and he was not going to be led along by Max like some kind of besotted geek-boy ordinary.

Alec plucked the cupcake from Max's hand and took a long leisurely taste of the frosting. Max looked at him, her eyes hungry for so much more then baked goods. Alec leaned down and kissed her, slow and sure, the frosting still on his tongue, mingling the spicy perfection that he found in her kiss with the sweet vanilla of the icing.

As Alec lay on his back, Max dabbing frosting here and there, licking and kissing her way down his body, he knew that Max and frosting might be the death of him, but what a way to go.


	4. GH

Alphabetically in Love

Alphabetically in Love

Disclaimer: If Dark Angel belonged to me I never would have let any of you see Alec, too much damn competition now.

AN: Sorry this took so long to get out; my muse has been running amuck since the Supernatural season 3 finale. And by "running amuck" I mean breaking into liquor stores, stealing all the booze she can carry, then getting incredibly drunk and throwing the empties at me.

AN2 "Hero" is the first time I've written smut, so be gentle.

AN3 "Hero" is also fluff, pure and simple. I mean it's really fluff, its super fluff. It's fluffier then a fluffy bunny freshly back from the fluff n' fold.

"Hero" is dedicated to Seamagik, you asked for smut and I delivered…God help us….

Girl: K+; Hero: M

Girl

"Max, baby-girl, you have to choose," OC approached her dark haired, volatile best friend cautiously. OC had seen Max chuck a floor lamp at Alec not five minutes earlier, and was not anxious to experience Max's flavor of "shut up and leave me the hell alone!" for herself. She carefully checked to make sure all the easily tossed furniture in the bedroom was out of Max's reach before continuing. "Sugah, I know you love them both, but this has to end."

"This is all Alec's fault anyway," Max started in again. "He couldn't just be happy with the way things were, he always has to push." OC knew appealing to her Boo's common sense was a lost cause, but couldn't quite stop herself from trying.

"You had to know this day would come Max, or did you really think you could keep switching back and forth between them foreveh?" Max opened her mouth to respond but shut it again at the sight of OC's quirked eyebrow.

"I just thought I'd have more time, there's more at stake then just my happiness," Max begged OC to understand her predicament. "What if I pick the wrong one? What then Cin? How can you ask me to choose when I love them both?"

OC threw her hands up in exasperation and walked over to the bed where Joshua was sitting watching the two of them talk, like a spectator at a tennis match. Cindy lightly slapped Josh on the shoulder before plopping down next to him on the bed. "Tag Boo, you're it. I can't take anymore of this."

"Original Cindy want to play tag?" Joshua questioned, his head tilted slightly to the left and a befuddled look to his canine features. "Joshua thought we were talking sense to Little Fella. Intervention time."

"We are doggy-dog, it's just a phrase meaning that if Original Cindy don't take a break from all this drama she's gonna start beatin' heads together."

Alec chose that moment to re-enter the bedroom, he'd been banished to the kitchen after the lamp incident but OC knew his sorry ass was too stubborn to stay gone for long.

Max spotted him immediately and paled, whether from his presence or the gash just above his left eye which had finally stopped bleeding and wouldn't be needing stitches after all, nobody was really sure.

OC looked from one fool to the other before addressing Joshua. "See this right here is a perfect example of why Original Cindy is stayin' with the sisters," she scoffed not bothering to whisper, they'd have heard her anyway. "Hetero's, buckets of crazy the lot of 'em." This revelation did not however prompt OC to leave the comfort of the bed. She'd introduced Josh to pre-pulse soap operas recently, and both knew the scene before them was better then any melodrama on the tube.

"Hi ya Maxie," Alec began nervously, pretending not to have heard the comments from the peanut gallery. OC stifled a snort and wished for some popcorn, if it had been her to take a lamp to the noggin she'd definitely be thinking twice about cornerin' Max on this subject again…once she had regained consciousness of course.

"Alec," Max started towards him but didn't get more then a few steps before she forced herself to stop. "I can't talk to you about this."

"Come on Max, you can talk to me about anything," Alec closed the rest of the distance between them in a few confident strides. "Besides, who better to chat this out with? This decision affects me just as much as it does you."

"Alec I know what you want, I just don't think I'm ready to make that call," Max began to turn away but was stopped by Alec's strong arms surrounding her.

"Will you ever feel ready Maxie?" Alec kept a hold of her with his left arm, bringing his right hand up to cup her face. "It's been three weeks Max; the only thing stopping you from making up your mind is fear." He took both her hands in one of his own and led her to their daughter's crib. "What's it gonna be Max?"

"This is easy for you Alec, if we'd had a son you'd be freaking out just as bad!" Alec conceded this point with a small nod of his head. It's true that had their child been a boy instead of a girl he'd probably be wracked with indecision too.

This was the flaw in their perfect plan that neither one had anticipated. When they'd whittled down the list of names until they had two for a boy and two for a girl the happy couple had found themselves at an impasse. They simply couldn't pick between the four, so they did what seemed like good reasoning at the time. If their child was a girl, Max would get to choose and if they had a boy, Alec would. Cutting the decision in half and lessening the stress.

Simple.

Simple and disastrous.

Wanting to be surprised they hadn't known if they were bringing and XX or an XY into the world until she was born. It had been three weeks and still Max couldn't decide between the two names. She'd been switching between them at least half-a-dozen times a day, and was making life hell for anyone who tried to rush her.

Cindy and Joshua got up from the bed and came over to stand next to the crib. All four looked down at the beautiful baby girl in awe. She blinked huge green eyes back at them, completely unaware of the turmoil her nameless state had put them all into.

Max looked down on their girl and said the first name, the tone of her voice making it a question to the person who this decision would truly affect the most. Her only response was to yawn and stick her left foot in her mouth.

"Next one?" Alec suggested as he slung his arm over his Mate's shoulder.

Joshua and Cindy nodded in agreement, and all three looked to Max who smiled before trying name number two.

Both parents and godparents were disappointed when the youngest person in this meeting began gumming at her foot and drooling excessively.

Alec looked at the faces of his friends and wife before returning his stare to the little girl happily sucking now on her right foot.

"So, was that a yes?"

X452X494X452X494X452X494X452X494X452X494

Hero

Alec's feet felt heavier then he knew they were as he climbed the steps to the top of the Space Needle. It's been seven hours since he'd asked Max a question that had sent her bolting for her High Place. Seven hours of waiting, pacing, and biting the head off of whoever crossed his path. The last thing Alec wanted to do was crowd her, other men had made that mistake and he knew better. The war was over, but with White and his merry band of Familiars on the run and looking for revenge it wasn't safe for the savior of mankind to be out on her own.

Alec knew she would be here, knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped protectively around her legs, a small frown marring her perfect features, the wind whipping her hair about causing it to float around her like a halo. Alec looked out the observation window, and there she was, just like he'd pictured. He stepped out onto the circular roof his boots making almost no noise against the metal surface. Alec made his way toward Max slowly, giving her plenty of time to hear him, send him away. A slight tensing in her shoulders let him know that she was aware of his presence; the way they relaxed again told him it was alright to sit down. Alec took his seat next to her; it was where he belonged forever and always, by her side. Max clearly wasn't done thinking yet and the last thing Alec wanted to do was rush her, so he let his mind drift, wandering back to day everything changed between them.

5 Months Earlier

Alec was exhausted. He'd just got in from a five day op that was supposed to take one. All he wanted to do was crawl into a shower, try not to drown, and then curl up on his bed and sleep for a week. He managed the shower, but sleep was being an elusive bastard and wouldn't come. Alec's brain refused to shut off, he needed to speak with Max about what had happened on the supply run. If Manticore's suppression drugs were warring off then Terrace was only the beginning.

Terrace was an X5 female, she had long honey blond hair almost down to her waist and eyes so blue they were practically cobalt. She was originally intended for covert ops, they had trained together, both of them specializing in assassinations. The way Terry looked it wasn't too surprising, any target she was ordered to neutralize would be dead before they were done picking their jaws up off the floor.

Max had asked him to put together a special team for emergency runs, things they needed that couldn't be put off till they had a foolproof plan in place. Alec put together a five man team including himself, which he would lead. Terrace and another female X5 Lilac were on it, as were Asphalt and Briar, two X5 males. They were all in covert forces training together, so he knew they could handle the pressure. The five of them had been designed to do just this sort of work, only instead of stealing corporate secrets or assassinating the Albanian ambassador they were sneaking out to get medical supplies and food.

Terrace had gone into Heat four days ago and Alec had been fighting hormones and X5s ever since. They'd been on the run when it hit and he'd made the decision to stay away from TC till the worse had passed. Of course the reason for their little group meant that it was imperative the supplies get back home ASAP.

Alec had beaten the shit out of Asphalt and Briar when they'd tried to jump her, of course Terry hadn't minded too much, that is until Lilac hit her with a brick and sat on her. With Terrace unconscious the hormones had lessened and the X5 men were able to think a little more clearly. Alec sent the guys back to TC with the supplies they'd stolen; he and Lilac would hole up with Terry until this bitch was done.

Alec had always been resistant to the pheromones female X5s secreted during their Heat cycles; it was a part of being Alpha. All the other kitties were content with whatever was around, the Alphas got first pick and therefore had to be able to say 'no' when there was a more desirable mate that they wanted. Conversely the more Alpha a female the less resistance she had to her own Heat, if the men could say 'no' the stronger women had to be able to convince them to change their minds.

They were lucky Terry wasn't all that dominant; he and Lilac had been able to keep her in check with cold showers and a couple pairs of handcuffs Lilac was carrying. Alec had given her one of his raised eyebrows and then ordered her never to tell him before cuffing Terrace to the bed of some seedy motel they'd sought refuge in.

One day to steal the supplies followed by three days in a cockroach infested hellhole and then another one spent getting back to TC, all Alec wanted to do was sleep damn it.

He got up and slid into a pair of jeans not bothering with underwear, he was just going to speak with Max, then come back to his apartment and catch some Zs. Alec threw on a tight fitting white t-shirt and stopped long enough to shove his feet into his boots before stomping out to find Max.

He headed straight to HQ, looking up from the street he could see into her office, the soft glow from a table lamp illuminating the room to his transgenic eyes. Max was sitting at her desk bent over some papers, her brow furrowed. Alec entered the building climbed the stairs to the second floor where his and Max's offices were located. One sharp rap on the door and he entered without waiting for an answer, they never did when barging into one another's lives.

Max looked up at him a small smile forming before she schooled her expression into one of exasperation and slight annoyance.

"Alec what are you doing here? I thought I told you to get some sleep, you've been awake for the past five days, and you're no good to us half dead."

"I know Maxie," he began awkwardly. "But I needed to talk to you, it can't wait."

She sat back in her chair one eyebrow raised expectantly, and waited for him to speak. Of all the things that had changed in their relationship since the siege began this one still spooked him sometimes. Max was never patient with him, she kicked his ass and demanded answers, but since becoming her fake boyfriend, roommate, and SIC things had been better between them. Oh they still fought like a cat and…well another cat actually, hissing and spitting, circling each other while letting out ungodly shrieks that turn out to be some sort of mating call, but which scare the shit out of everyone. Mole would still take bets on who'd come out on top, and Logan would frown at their behavior. The difference now was that whoever won would treat the other to dinner, mistakes were still made, on both sides, but they admitted them and were forgiven.

"Manticore's Heat suppression drugs are wearing off," he stated looking her in the eye.

"Alec I know this already, remember? We had a debriefing when you guys got back," Max reminded him, wondering where this was going.

"Hold your horses Maxie, I'm working up to something here," Alec smirked at her briefly before retuning to his serious face. "Terrace was only the beginning; others in the X series who weren't chosen for breeding will be going into Heat too, but we've got some time before they start to lose it. What isn't widely known is that Terry was on a mission, but when she got back they put her into the breeding program. That was two weeks before you were deemed ready to return to duty. They stopped her suppression therapy at that time; they stopped yours when you were put back in rotation."

Max's eyes began to widen as she realized what he was trying to get at. Two weeks, give or take a couple days, and she was going into Heat.

"What are we gonna do?" Max asked sounding lost, she briefly wondered why she'd said 'we' instead of 'I' but she somehow knew without a doubt that Alec would be with her every step of the way.

"Max, I think we both know that, when your Heat comes it'll be me who claims you," Alec shook as he fought to get the words out past his constricting throat. "But I don't want that to happen."

Max sprang from her chair as though burned and began pacing on the far side of her desk, trying to get as far away from Alec as possible while they were in the same room. Alec paled as he processed the words as she must have heard them.

"No Maxie!" He tried to grab her arm, but backed off at the feral growl she released at him. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Alec tried to explain.

"Then what did you mean?" She stopped her pacing to stare at him. The sudden stillness was almost worse then the frantic movement.

Please don't let me fuck this up; he begged whoever might be listening before trying again.

"I don't want to mate with you," he rushed through the rest of his words as quickly as possible when he heard her give another snarl. "I want to make love to you."

"What?"

"I don't want a wild coupling that we'll both regret because it can't be everything we want it to be. I want to lay you down, and take you slow." Alec took a step towards Max, gently taking her hand in his. "I want to map every inch of your body till I know it better then my own. I want you, not one pheromone induced night of passion," he cupped her face with his free hand. "I want to make love to you."

Max's mouth was hanging open slightly and it had gone bone dry at the image of the two of them together, exploring each other for hours. She stepped away from his touch, trying to gather her thoughts into a slightly less pornographic area.

Alec approached her slowly, draping his right arm around her shoulders, reaching up with the other to tap her jaw. Max snapped her mouth shut with an audible click, Alec winced slightly at the noise.

"So, what do you think Maxie?"

X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5

Her response had been everything he'd hoped for. As the cold November wind whipped around them, Alec allowed his mind to drift back to that night.

X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5

How he'd managed to keep it together until they got back to their apartment Alec would never know. Max and he had been making out in earnest back in her office before he remembered that a transgenic could see everything they were doing from the street as he had before he'd entered HQ. That and the lack of anything other then her desk and a threadbare couch which made for less then romantic surroundings had Alec guiding Max back to their place.

Max had his belt off before the door had finished closing; Alec growled deep in the back of his throat as her petite hand made its way past the denim of his jeans. Max tore her mouth away from his in surprise when she didn't meet the resistance of cotton boxers. Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment and at the unapologetic quirk of his lips Max pulled his head back down to hers. They made their way through the room without turning on any lights, transgenic eyesight and eidetic memory kicking in even when they were both so far gone with _want_ and _need_ and _yes please right now!_

The two of them reached the bedroom, somehow managing to lose several shoes and Max's top along the way. Alec picked Max up and laid her down on his bed, breath catching in his throat at the site of Max spread out on the blankets waiting for him. She was perfect in every way, from her kiss swollen lips to the lone biker boot hanging precariously off her foot. Max kicked the boot off with a flourish, sending it flying into Alec's dresser, and Alec turned his attention to Max's pants. Not that his attention didn't wander there of it's own accord from time to time, but right now he needed to focus on how to get the damn things off.

"Maxie, not to be unromantic or anything, but how the hell am I supposed to get these off you? They're worse then a chastity belt." Max threw her head back and laughed, in hindsight a mistake as it forced Alec's concentration off getting her naked and onto the delicious curve of her neck.

Max was having trouble remembering the trick to getting this particular pair of jeans off seeing as how Alec was tasting every inch of her throat, licking and nibbling his way down, down, down-

"Holy Hot Damn!" She cried out as Alec used his teeth to slowly drag the cup of her bra away from her right breast. Pearly whites scraping against sensitive flesh as he went.

At her cry Alec lost patience with the subtle approach and simply ripped the clasp of her jeans open. Max's whole body jerked with the force of it and something deep within her clenched, begging for release. Alec began to slide the jeans off her body, taking his time to taste each inch of revealed skin as he went. Finally, finally she was free and only her panties and about half a bra stood between him and her. Of course Alec still had his pants, unbuttoned but on, and his shirt, Max felt a brief flash of annoyance at the unfairness of the clothing distribution before Alec gave her a look so full of love it made her heart stand still.

Alec kissed her with everything he had, trying to imprint his mouth, his mark, his claim on her, and begging her to claim him in return. When he pulled back and allowed her to breathe once more Alec began to work south again. Paying only cursory notice to her breasts he headed straight to her panties already soaked through. His eyes came back to hers asking permission, Max gulped but nodded her head, whatever he had planned she wanted it more than she'd wanted anything before.

He moved so fast that if she hadn't been transgenic she never would have noticed the underwear leaving her body and his face positioning itself between her thighs. Max gasped as that wicked mouth of his, so skillful at fast talking and sarcasm, revealed a heretofore unknown talent. The soft swipes of his tongue and gentle use of teeth was driving her mad. She was so close to the edge she wanted to weep, but each time she almost went over Alec would pull back, stringing out the pleasure until she wanted to scream. Then those full lips settled around her clit and she did scream.

If Max hadn't already known Alec had feline DNA in him, this would have confirmed it. The way he lapped her clean had the line 'kitties and cream' flying around in her groggy brain. And the look of pure male satisfaction with himself would have made her smack him at any other moment; but damn, the boy had earned a right to be smug.

Max's mind cleared the post orgasmic fog much faster then an ordinary's, and she quickly flipped Alec, taking the offensive.

She removed his t-shirt, careful not to rip it even though she was in a hurry. It was one her favorites of his, and Max simply couldn't get enough of the way his muscles would ripple beneath it. Not even the promise of sex after one of the worst dry spells in history could get her to damage that shirt.

Max straddled his jeans clad waist and gazed down at Alec, drinking him in. His blond-brown hair was tousled and those green eyes of his with the ability to hypnotize her had darkened with need. Golden-tanned muscles and smooth chest greeted her wandering hands as they traveled every inch of his body she could reach. But what caught her attention the most were his freckles. Badass, tough as nails, assassins just should not have freckles, yet there they were. Max couldn't resist the urge to lay light butterfly kisses across them before finding her way back to his lips.

Max broke the kiss then went to work on his neck, her fingers tangling in the hair at the back of his head before sensuously stroking along his barcode. Alec's heart began to beat faster and Max moved onto his pulse point, loving the way it jumped against her tongue right before her teeth latched on marking him as hers. Not a Mate claim, but she wanted everyone to see the evidence of what happened tonight. A feeling of possession curled up through her chest, coming out as a snarl against Alec's throat.

"Mine," she said licking the sore spot. If the way that Alec's cock jumped at the sound was any indication, he didn't mind belonging to Max.

Alec never would have dreamed of marking Max in any way tonight, he didn't think she would be ready for that kind of commitment. Even though this wasn't a Mate mark, it did temporarily claim Alec as hers, and every transgenic and transhuman in TC would know it.

Alec flipped them over again and attacked her breasts with a vengeance. Nimble fingers undid the hooks holding the scrap of fabric together; he threw the bra across the room without a second glance as he sank into Max's soft mounds. He licked and nipped at her right breast while his hand took care of the other.

Max was having trouble thinking straight as Alec switched to mouthing her other nipple. Her soft moan snapped him out of whatever trance he'd fallen into and Alec looked to her once more asking permission.

"Yours," she said cupping his face in her hand, a soft smile gracing her lips. Awe entered Alec's eyes briefly before being replaced by animal instinct.

"Mine," he agreed and sank his teeth into soft flesh. Once the mark was there Alec nuzzled against it causing Max to cry out, he then returned once more to lavishing attention on her breasts.

Max was so distracted by Alec's tongue she hadn't even noticed where those fingers of his were heading till one slipped inside her, forcing a gasp past her lips. Eventually a second and then a third finger joined their companion, loosening Max and filling her with sensations she didn't even know she'd been missing.

Unable to take anymore of the slow torture Alec was currently inflicting on her Max grabbed hold of his pants, finished unzipping them and using her legs, slid them off him. Taking his cue Alec removed his fingers and moved back up her body, trailing kisses everywhere until he was poised at her entrance.

"Are you sure Maxie?" In that moment Max new she loved him. Everything he did, in bed and out, was for her. Max smiled at him again, gently lifting her hand up and stroking along his face, circling around back to his barcode. Alec's eyes closed in contentment at the caress, before opening and focusing on hers.

"I'm sure Alec; I want you to make love to me."

Slowly he pushed into her, until finally she was full. Alec began to move inside her and Max purred at the feeling of completeness, their two halves making each other whole. His pace began to quicken and soon all thoughts flew out of both their minds, all that was left was bliss.

Max was nearing the edge and as she gasped and moaned beneath him, her cries of 'Alec' became like a prayer. With one final thrust she came, his name on her lips, her orgasm setting off his. They rode out the waves of ecstasy holding tight to each other, when they could breathe again brown eyes locked with green, and both were warmed by the love they found there.

X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5

Alec smiled softly as he reflected on how easy things had seemed that night. However life, unfortunately, had a way of throwing curve balls right in the middle of the game. They'd had two great…no, make that fantastic, months together. With them in an established relationship her Heat had posed no problem, they were making headway with the peace negotiations, and the snake cult had been in hibernation over the summer. Logan was still buzzing around feeling like the kid that was picked last for soccer, but nothing's perfect.

Then it happened, the cult's gigantic plan of doom. Nothing much came of it, part of the peace negotiations had been for TC to hand over samples of Max's blood, with help from Manticore doctors who had seen the error of their ways, and the safety from transgenic reprisals in government service, they'd been able to find a cure for the cult's plague before it even hit. That didn't stop the Familiars from trying to unleash Armageddon, but it did mean that it was a pretty pathetic attempt. The Great War to end all wars lasted two months. That's how long it took for transgenics and ordinaries to wipe out the majority of the Familiar threat.

With the key to their survival being Max most of the populace did a 180 on transgenics. There were some hold outs of course, and there always would be, but transgenics and transhumans were free.

The night Congress passed the law stating that their people were citizens of the United States there'd been one hell of a party in Terminal City. OC, Sketchy, and Normal all came, so did Logan.

He'd had the Manticore scientists working on the cure to his and Max's problem, since it didn't take long for them to work out the Familiar's plague; Logan figured they could do this while they were at it. They'd pulled it off too, one little injection and he was fine. Logan had decided on the night of the party as the perfect time to tell her. He had walked into TC's bar slash community center, all big smiles, gone straight up to Max and laid one on her…right in front of Alec. Max had freaked, she'd thought it was his melodramatic way of committing suicide or something; she'd pushed him away and called for an emergency medical team.

In hindsight it was pretty damn funny, Max screaming at Logan for killing himself and Logan's eyes all wide as he tried to stutter out that he wasn't trying to end his life. Although Alec had trouble finding the humor when it happened. Unlike Max he'd noticed that Logan wasn't falling down and breaking out in splotchy hives of death, he also noticed the triumphant look on Logan's face that Max was so worried about him. It had taken a few minutes but between them he and Logan managed to make Max understand that the ordinary wasn't about to drop dead, and that he was in fact cured of his deadly Max allergy.

What happened next was something Alec likes to replay in his mind over and over. Maybe it's petty of him, but the look on Logan's face when Max told him off for scaring her, and asked just what the hell he was thinking kissing her when they're not even like that, especially in front of her boyfriend who she very much is like that with; was better then Christmas.

Max had promptly told OC and the two of them spent the rest of the night casting Logan dirty looks whenever he got within glaring distance. It seemed that now Max was no longer in danger of killing him with a touch, she might decide to end him with a punch.

At around midnight Alec left the party to tell Dalton and Mole they could set off the fireworks, how those two had managed to get that duty Alec would never know. He was just glad Dalton's hair was growing back and Mole hadn't been permanently scarred…they were really looking forward to New Years Eve so they could try and work out the kinks in their fireworks plan. Alec would just have to make sure the med team had more fire extinguishers this time.

Logan had cornered him on his way back to the party so they could have chat, man to man.

X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5

"What to what?" Alec asked doing a terrible job of concealing the humor he felt at the situation.

"Man to man," Logan tried again, frowning when Alec started laughing at the phrase.

"Sorry," Alec giggled manfully, wiping fake tears from his eyes. "Please continue, I look forward to our manly discussion." Logan rolled his eyes and decided to jump right in.

"You don't deserve her," Logan stated, daring Alec to deny it.

"I know," Alec replied seriously, all traces of laughter gone. "But then, neither do you."

"Everything I've done ever since I met Max has been for her," Alec scoffed at his ascertain. "You don't believe me?"

"I believe that you believe it," Alec looked Logan in the eye. "I believe that you love her, but I also believe that you're not the person who can make her happy."

"And you are?" Logan questioned incredulously. "You're a killer! The happy-go-lucky sociopath!"

"And you're a self-righteous, narcissistic, rich boy, with delusions of grandeur. We've all got issues."

"What are Max's?"

"A tendency towards a savior complex and extreme martyrdom," Alec smiled. "Plus she can be kinda bitchy and has a mean right hook," the smile vanished. "She also has the biggest heart of any person I've ever met, and it can get her into trouble. It can lead to people taking advantage of her, like you used to. All those Eyes Only missions, putting her life at risk so you can feel better about being born with a silver spoon in your mouth."

"You think you're saving her don't you?" Logan shook his head sadly. "Saving her from herself, being her hero? Max deserves every chance to be happy; she deserves someone who wants to make the world a better place."

"Someone like you," Alec smirked.

"Yes, like me. One day she'll realize that, one day she'll wake up and want satin sheets instead of cotton, a beautiful home instead of a broken city. Will you let her go when that day comes? Or are you gonna trap her in a world she's too good for? Tie her down to you, this place, and this life; stop her from spreading her wings."

"I'm going to let her make up her own damn mind and not assume I know what's best for her Logan. That's what a real friend would do, that's what someone who loves her would do. And by the way, I don't give a fuck about being a hero, that's your trip," Alec began to walk away then stopped, turning back to say one last thing before returning to the party, and the woman he loved. "A word to the not so wise old buddy, Maxie doesn't need a hero, she already is one."

X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5X5

Alec was so lost in memories he didn't notice Max was ready to talk to him until the beautiful brunette was jabbing him repeatedly with her elbow.

"Ow! Jesus Maxie, anyone ever tell you you've got a boney elbow."

"Nope, you're the only one who sweet talks me like that Alec," she smiled at him. "Alec," she said suddenly hesitant. "Do you remember the day all we became citizens?"

"You mean the day our lives changed forever and we were finally acknowledged as having as much right to live as anybody else?" Alec laughed. "No clue Maxie, you might have to refresh my memory."

"OK," Max pretended to ponder. "Oh! It was also the day that Logan kissed me in front of just about everyone in TC," she teased him.

"Ah yes, it's all coming back to me now," Alec growled.

"Thought that might jog your memory," she laughed. "Anyway, that night, at the party, when you left to get the fireworks started…but before the fire and screaming began…" Max trailed off unsure of how to continue.

"Maxie?" Alec questioned worried. He'd never known her to beat around the bush about anything. "Wait…you didn't….Were you by any chance eavesdropping on a certain conversation I may have had with a certain robo-journalist?" Alec raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Possibly," Max replied feeling a bit guilty.

"Is this what you've been thinking about for the past," Alec checked his watch. "Nine hours?"

"No," Max declared defiantly. "Maybe," she sighed.

"Max, what-" she cut him off.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Which part?" Alec hedged nervously. He'd said a lot of things in that conversation that Max might not like. He meant all of it, but he wasn't so sure telling her that 'yes sweetie you can be quite the roaring bitch sometimes' was the best way to go.

"When...when you called me a hero," she said quietly.

Alec laughed, then stopped immediately at her hurt expression.

"Maxie," he began, stroking her face lovingly. "You literally saved the world, of course you're a hero," she looked away from him. Sure she'd saved the world, but that was just coincidence. Sandaman had saved the world, he was the one who designed her to be his little science project messiah. All she had to do was sit there and let someone draw some of her blood, big hero work. But Alec wasn't done yet.

"So that's why you're everyone else's hero, Max. But that's not why I called you one," Max turned back to him surprised. "Max, you liberated all of us from Manticore, you fought for your freedom when you were nine years old, despite all odds you survived on the outside in a world gone mad, you lost your family but you still stayed strong. I've known you for over two years and I've never seen you give up, not on yourself and not on anyone else, even when they didn't deserve your faith…when I didn't," Alec stopped her protest with a kiss.

"You named me, you saved me, and when I let you down you took me back into your life. Maybe you didn't want to, maybe you didn't even know that's what you were doing, but you did. I've stayed by your side all this time because of all the things I've seen, all the people I've met, none came close to having your fire, or your kindness," he wiped a tear from Max's cheek.

"You have the purest soul I've ever seen, and you're the best person I've ever known," Alec smiled and gave a small chuckle. "You're not just a hero Maxie, you're my hero."

Max leaned in and kissed him with all the love he'd shown for her.

"Yes," she said simply.

"What?" Alec asked still brain-dead from Max lips.

"Nine hours ago you asked me a question, and now I'm saying yes," Max kissed him again, then pulled back and smiled bright enough to light the darkness around them. "Yes Alec McDowell, I will marry you."


End file.
